More Than A Diamond
by simplicity-0o1
Summary: Cagalli Yula Athha has been a workaholic since the second war. She is burying herself in work in order forget about somebody. She's telling herself it's better off this way. And then comes a mysterious gift... AxC
1. Chapter 1

**More Than A Diamond**

**Disclaimer**: Plain and simple, don't own it.

**Author's Note**: mmkay! So, after so many months (or years? Haven't really kept track. Heh.) of just reading fanfictions, I thought I'd write one of my own! This is just a twoshot although I do have some chappie stories planned (but that's only if I can get my lazy butt to write them). I'm more of a chappies story writer cuz I'm more of a drama/romance person instead of a humour/romance (which are what oneshots usually are). But enough of me. Hope you enjoy! smiles and skips away.

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"Cagalli-sama, you are so damn lucky!" Rebecca, the new body-guard of the ORB's Chief Representative, cried as she carried herself and a load of gleaming wrapped presents of all shapes and sizes into her boss's office. She dropped the presents by the couch in the office where a couple dozens of presents laid.

Cagalli, who was busy typing away on her laptop, quickly glanced up to see the gifts. She let out a sigh.

"You know, Rebecca, you can have some of those presents if you like. I really have no interest in them." Cagalli told her body-guard while checking an e-mail from one of the ORB Emirates.

"But Cagalli-sama, you should at least see what inside it first." Rebecca argued. "You never know, you just might like some of them. And it's not like you _have to_ marry whoever gave you the gift once you accept it. Have a little fun with them!"

Cagalli walked over to the stack of gifts. She sighed once again as she allowed herself to drop onto the green couch beside the presents. _What Rebecca had said was true_, she thought, _but opening the presents would only waste my time when I have so many matters to attend to._ She was frustrated. She had made it very clear to every prince (or male person, in general) in every ball and meeting that she had no intentions of marrying. At least not yet. But they still have to send her all these gifts along with a few proposals. But she's not accepting anything.

Her heart only belongs to one person. And that person had abandoned her months ago. He had returned to the PLANTs. That person was none other than Athrun Zala. From what she last heard, he would probably be one of PLANTs supreme councillors soon. It's funny how the one thing she can't have is the one thing she wanted, no, needed, the most. But if fate wants to play this game, she would probably just have to play along. There's nothing she can do. They both have their own responsibilities.

"Maybe in another lifetime," Cagalli mumbled.

"What was that, Ms. Athha?" Rebecca, who overheard Cagalli, asked.

"Oh, it was nothing. Okay, Rebecca, here's the deal," Cagalli stated to change the subject. "You can open all my gifts since you have nothing to do while I type away in my office anyways. If the gift is a necklace, ring, bracelet, or that kind of crap, you may kindly take them and do whatever you like with them. And if the gift is interesting, then I would like to see it. Not that it means I'll take it, but I do get a good laugh sometimes from the gifts that I received."

"Alrighty! Your wish is my command!" Rebecca saluted, but it was very clear that Rebecca was already itching to start on unwrapping the gifts. She watched as her superior returned back to her bureau of hell as she started unwrapping the first present.

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It was close to midnight and Cagalli was still staring at her laptop. Rebecca had just finished unwrapping the presents (thank God too because the tearing sounds of the wrapping paper was really starting to bug Cagalli).

"Cagalli-sama!" Cagalli's head turned towards the person who produced her name. "Would you like me to show you the gifts, or more like the gift, that I thought came up as quite interesting now or later?"

Cagalli looked at the time. It would be unfair to keep Rebecca at the office any longer and she really seems to want to show her the gift so Cagalli decided she'd have a look. Not to mention Cagalli was just a bit curious in what the gift was.

Rebecca brought the gift over and settled it on her table. What sat in front of her was a leather bag. A small leather bag that she could probably fit her coffee mug in. Now that peaked her interest. She opened the bag and gasped. Shining back at her were beautiful gemstones. Stones that she had never seen before. It was not your everyday diamond that she was looking at. There were four of them in total. She was able to identify two of them. An aquamarine and a peridot.

"It's strange isn't it?" Rebecca asked.

Cagalli nodded. "Do you know who sent this?"

"That's the other interesting part. There wasn't a signature or anything. There was a card though. Here!" In Rebecca's hand was a simple but elegant card in her favourite colour; green. Cagalli's hand reached for the card but she could already see what was written on it.

_Remember our favourite beach? Meet me there tomorrow at noon._

Cagalli had a sinking feeling that she knew who it was from. There was just one person in the entire universe who shared a beach with her, who knew where her favourite beach was. _Athrun Zala, you are such a bastard_, Cagalli mused to herself. _Why couldn't you have just left me alone? Do you __**want**__ me to dread on you forever?_

"Cagalli-sama! Cagalli-sama!" Rebecca's cries of her name brought her back to reality. She turned her attention to the girl. "Are you okay, Cagalli-sama? You totally blanked out just a moment ago."

"Don't worry about me, Rebecca. I'm fine. Maybe just lack of sleep. You can head back home now, I'm almost finished. I'll take care of myself, kay?"

"Cagalli-sama! You need some sleep! This is like the fifth night in a row where you told me to go home first and I find you asleep on your desk the next morning. And I doubt tonight's going to be any different. Not to mention you know I'm not supposed to leave you unless you are in the safety of the manor." Rebecca took a deep breath. "No! The answer is no! I'm not going to leave you! I guess you'll just have to either work with me bugging the crap out of you or go home and get some sleep."

Cagalli sighed. She really needed to think and unless she can get some time and space to herself, that's not going to possible. The idea of sleep was tempting too.

"Okay," Cagalli gave in. She's going to have a long day tomorrow and she needs to think over how to handle her situation.

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Okayy!

This was supposed to be a oneshot, but I got lazy and decided I'll do the second part tomorrow.

(Don't start calling me a lazy ass now! It's almost three right now so a girl's got the right to sleep doesn't she?)

So now it's officially a two-shot!

So the second part would be the confrontation…

And I like to be different ;)

So just to let you know, there is a meaning with the gift Athrun gave Cagalli.

I'll give whoever who is able to guess it a cookie smiles

(I'm sorry, but a cookie is all poor little o me can afford)

Tootle-loo!


	2. Chapter 2

**More Than a Diamond**

**Disclaimer**: Go bother somebody else…didn't own it last chapter, don't own it this chapter, and probably will never own it

**Author's Note**: Okie dokie! Whoo! I actually got reviews grins from ear to ear. To tell you the truth…I didn't expect to get any reviews. So thankies a WHOLE bunch of a lot ). I actually WANT to get a work on my chappie stories now. I'll give a summary of them at the end of this story.

Hugs and kisses (and a cookie) for all of you who've reviewed!

**Cagallirocks**: I love ya! My first reviewer! And I totally agree with your name.

**Lac73**: thanks for encouraging me to update. It really helped me want to write. Love ya!

**Hades.Throne.Heiress**: yepp ! Bugging the crap out of you ! (I like to do that a lot) btw, I love your stories. I just wished that you didn't put Entwined Promise on hiatus. Please update it soon? gives you the puppy eyes

**chicax0xbonita**: I'm giving you one big lolly-pop since you guessed that ;). I was considering on doing that. But did I do that? I guess you'll just have to read and find out ;D

**Canadain-Girl**: Whoo ! Firstly, Canada ROCKS ! lol and I'm actually breaking out of my lazy-ness and writing this. If this was for school, I would have only written a chapter a week (although these two chapters were supposed to be one chapter together, since it's supposed to be a oneshot).

Now on with the story!

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Cagalli fingered the ring that hung as a necklace unconsciously. She glanced at the digital clock beside her bed and it read 5:24 am. She hardly got a wink of sleep. She's been tossing and turning, thinking and thinking. Cagalli sighed (she seems to be doing that a lot lately). Deciding that she probably won't get any more sleep (not that she got much at all), she got out of bed and made it to the showers. She wore her usual uniform as ORB Chief Representative but with a tank top underneath, knowing that it would be a hot day and that she would probably die if she wore her suit for the whole day.

Taking a look at the mirror, she quickly brushed her hair. She took a glimpse at the clock again. 6:15 am. She had a meeting at eight and she didn't finish preparing for it last night. She quickly applied some make-up, making sure she has enough concealer so that her eye bags would not be noticeable, and left for her office. She took her new black sports car to work while calling Rebecca to tell her that she doesn't need to pick her up from the manor and also telling Rebecca that she would meet her in the office at seven.

Once Cagalli arrived at her office, she got straight to work, although losing concentration every time she saw the bag of gems. Rebecca came in, just as expect, at seven o'clock sharp.

"'Morning, Cagalli-sama," Rebecca greeted, bringing in a coffee and a bagel for Cagalli, knowing that she probably didn't have any breakfast. "Did you get a good night of sleep?"

"To tell you the truth, no, I did not." Cagalli answered and thanked Rebecca for the food. "The gift has been on my mind for the whole night. I'm not sure if I should go and meet whoever who sent me the gift at the beach."

"But Ms. Athha, what if it's a trap?" Rebecca asked with concern. She only addressed Cagalli as Ms. Athha when it's something serious. "It could be somebody who figured out where your favourite beach is and wants to lure you out on your own so they can – "

"Trust me, Rebecca. I know it's not a trap. I think I know who it's from too. Not to mention if it _is _a trap, I do know how to defend myself."

"But, Ms Athha –"

"No more buts and ifs from you. If I do decide to disappear during lunch, can you please cover for me? I know there's no meeting during my lunch time till 3 o'clock in the afternoon. But if anyone is to look for me, make sure you tell them something so they don't find out that I left the office, kay?"

"Ms. Athha, you shouldn't be doing this. It can be dangerous."

"Don't worry so much. I'm going to be fine. In the mean time, can you please take the bag of gems and find out what kind they are? I'm going to have another dreaded meeting with those old geezers soon and I don't think you'd want to sit through that with me so if you can, just find out the names of those four stones. You may get one of the employee laptops from the electronic supply room if you like."

"No problem, Cagalli-sama," Rebecca grinned and left the room to start on the task. But inside, she was confused. It was never like Cagalli-sama to take so much interest in one gift. And how could she have known who the gift was from? Did somebody from her past give it to her? Rebecca kept her thought on it but she knew it wasn't her business to pry Cagalli-sama about it. _I guess I'll just have to wait and find out_, Rebecca thought.

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It was pushing eleven o'clock when Cagalli finally got out of the meeting. She thought this meeting wouldn't last more than two hours. But boy was she wrong. She never knew people could argue so much and not get sick of it. It started off with the mere probably of where the immigrating ZAFT soldiers' living quarters would be and yet, the old geezers were able to fight over it for almost three hours. And then the meeting had to be rescheduled because they didn't get _anywhere_ with it.

Once Cagalli got back to her office, she noticed Rebecca was standing beside her desk with each of the gems laid out.

"How was the meeting, Cagalli-sama?"

"Awful! They just wouldn't stop talking, trying to convince me that their arguments are better. I'm thinking of just taking the side of whoever doesn't talk, which would be none of them." Cagalli headed back to her own desk and opened her laptop. She began typing away again. _Probably submitting the information from today's meeting_, Rebecca guessed.

"Well, I'm not sure if this would cheer you up, but I found the names and some information on the gemstones." Rebecca volunteered.

Rebecca gave the information she found to Cagalli, along with the stones. She studied the stones and thought about how Athrun had gone through the trouble of getting them carved out so beautifully.

Cagalli eyes transferred to the information. She already knew the beautiful ocean blue stone was Aquamarine and the lovely clear green gem was a Peridot. _It reminds me a lot of his eyes_, Cagalli thought.

Her eyes skimmed through the information for the other two stones. She found out that the stone with the bluish-turquoise mix was a Chrysocolla. The other jewel was called a Rhodochrosite. It was her favourite stone out of all of them. The polished red gem was magnificent. Just like her Red Knight. But her decision was already made; she's not going to meet him.

_Athrun, if you think you can persuade me to run back into your arms just because you gave me expensive stones, then you're no better than those princes out there. I'm trying to get over you, and if I see you again, that might not be possible. It's better if we stay disconnected._

And with that, Cagalli went back to work.

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Cagalli worked for another hour. It was twelve o'clock. Cagalli wondered if she's going regret not going there. She shook her head and got that thought out of her head. But once again, her eyes landed on the rocks and the information sheets. Then, something caught her eyes. At the end of the page on Rhodochrosite was something that made her heart flutter.

_Rhodochrosite – the stone of love._

Something snapped in Cagalli. Could it be a coincidence? She didn't bother to figure it out. She stuffed the gems back into their rightful bag and hurriedly left the office with it. She jumped into her sports car and sped off.

She left a message for Rebecca, who was out getting lunch for her, that she left for the beach. She told Rebecca earlier that she wouldn't go. Cagalli just prayed that Rebecca wouldn't follow her.

It was lunch rush right now and traffic was hell. Normally, it would have taken less than fifteen minutes to get to the beach but it took over half and hour for her today. When she finally hit the freeway that leads to the beach, Cagalli took off her jacket because she couldn't stand the heat anymore. She accelerated beyond the speed limit and felt the cool freeze running through her hair. Nothing was on her mind other than the fact that she was going to see Athrun again.

By the time she had pulled up to the parking lot of the beach, it was almost 12:45. She ran down to the beach and looked around. There was nobody there. Nothing. Cagalli decided to sit and wait a little bit.

Minutes ticked by. Cagalli looked at her watched. 12:50. She stood up and wandered around. Her fear was coming true. He had already left.

She let out a frustrated groan.

"Athrun, you baka, you couldn't even wait an hour for me!" She shouted to nobody in particular (since there's nobody at the beach anyways). She could feel tears swelling up in her eyes.

"Now an hour isn't really a lot when I've waited for almost a year." A deep voice replied. Cagalli froze. She can recognize that voice anywhere. Athrun Zala.

She turned around, not aware of just how close he was. He quickly enveloped her in a hug. "Cagalli, I'm sorry." She heard his muffled apology. She inhaled the scent that she had missed for what seemed like ages. Her heart is telling her to stay as she is but her brain is telling her that she can't and shouldn't be here.

She pushed him away.

"I'm sorry too, Athrun." But she was apologizing for what she's going to do. She spoke avoiding eye contact. "You and I both know we can't be together. I'm here to tell you that this should be the last time that we meet and I'm here to return the gift you gave me."

Her heart was breaking, pieces into pieces into pieces. Athrun stepped closer and gripped onto her shoulders. She looked away. What she didn't know was that Athrun could see the ring that hung around her neck.

"Cagalli, look into my eyes and say that you don't love me."

She glared at him.

"Don't be stupid, Athrun. You know I can't say that. But you'll always be Athrun Zala of PLANTs, son of ex-Chairman Zala and I'll always be Cagalli Yula Athha of ORB, daughter of ex-Chief Representative Athha. And from what I hear, you're one of the Supreme – "

Athrun silenced her with a kiss. His lips pressed gently into hers, and the rush of heat overtook her. Cagalli felt her legs going weak again and braced herself by resting her hands on his biceps. He stepped closer and ran his finger under her chin, tipping her head back to finish what he'd started. His breath tasted sweet and minty and his hair was amazingly soft, she discovered upon running her fingers through the midnight blue hair. He locked his hands behind her back, pulling her tightly against him so that she felt his heart hammering against hers. The kiss intensified for several moments, his hands tightening behind her back, and then all at once, she pushed away.

Athrun frowned.

"It's not going to work out Athrun," Cagalli repeated in a mumble. "I really, really wish it would, but the reality is that you'll probably be back in PLANTs in a few days and we won't be able to see each other for another year or two. If it's going to be like that, wouldn't it be better if we just break it all off?"

"Apparently, they didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"I'm the one in charge of the ZAFT immigration. I'm the commander of the soldiers who comes down to help train with the ORB soldiers. In other words, I'll be in ORB from now on."

Cagalli gasped in surprised.

"But they said that they would be sending down Commander Joule."

"Well his wife, Shiho, fell pregnant a month ago so the Higher Ups ordered him to stay with her. And they knew of my stay in ORB before I reenlisted so they asked me to replace him."

Athrun could still see the doubt in Cagalli's eyes.

"It's going to work out, Cagalli."

Cagalli remained silent.

"Show me the stones I gave you. I want to explain to you why I gave them because I'm not another snobby prince who just gives expensive gifts to impress."

Cagalli had totally forgotten about the bag of stones. She had been clutching it all along in her hands. She handed it to Athrun.

Athrun took out the Aquamarine.

"Aquamarine, the fearless stone. It reminds me of you so much. You are my fearless princess." Athrun explained.

And then the other blue stone, Chrysocolla.

"Chrysocolla, the stone of apologies. I'm sorry about so many things. I'm sorry about how I acted in the second war. I'm sorry I didn't come right back to you when the war ended. It took me a while to figure out what I truly wanted in life."

Next came the Peridot.

"Peridot, the healing stone. I really want help you heal the deep wounds from the last war. I know I've hurt you so much, and I know I was a jerk, but I'm a jerk who's crazy in love."

And lastly, the Rhodochrosite.

"Rhodochrosite, the –"

"The stone of love." Cagalli finished.

Athrun grinned. "I'm sure that's very self explanatory."

Athrun took out a small dark blue velvet box.

"And I believe this is how I should do it."

He got on one knee and opened the box. It revealed a ring with all four stones and one big midnight blue Sapphire in the middle. The Aquamarine and the Rhodochrosite were on the left side of the Sapphire and the Peridot and Chrysocolla were on the right side of the Sapphire.

Cagalli gasped.

The ring was stunning.

"Cagalli, you have amazed me in so many ways. You were there for me for so many days and nights and I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you. My love for you will last forever and more. I can go on for days about how much I love you and not finish but then I will never get to this next part." Athrun took a deep breath. "Cagalli Yula Athha, will you marry me?"

Shock came down on her first.

Then acceptence.

And finally, joy.

Cagalli was beyond happy. She was in the heavens. She didn't think this day will ever come. But here she was, standing here while Athrun was waiting for her reply. She leaped forward to give Athrun a hug, knocking him down in the process.

"Yes!" She cried.

With that, Athrun placed the ring on her ring finger and sealed it all with a kiss, claiming her as his.

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Wow…I didn't realize my second part would be so long.

Well this is it!

Thanks for reading

It's almost four in the morning now and my laptop is running outta battery so I'll just quickly upload this now.

You might get a Story Alert tomorrow (or whenever I come back with another story) saying that I updated this story. You can just ignore that. I'm going to try and figure out how to put the whole thing into one chapter since it's supposed to be a oneshot anyways.

I just realized I never explained what the big sapphire on the ring meant. I guess I'm just going to have to let you guys figure it out for yourselves. Or you can pm/review and ask me.

And these are the chappie stories that I have planned.

**Title: **My Little Flirt

**Rating**: Ranging from T to M (I'm not sure if I should do M though)

**Pairing**: Asucaga! (duh!) and probably many minor pairings too

**Genre**: Romance, Drama, and Angst (this is the kind of thing I'm better at)

**Summary**: Cagalli got the internship that every girl would pay to have. She's working at Croquette Magazine and she would be working under the dreadful, but awfully hot, Athrun Zala. She would give away this internship if she could, but she's not allowed, considering how this is for school. To top it all off, she finds Athrun flirting with her when she's just a minor! Cagalli, being the devil she is, decides to play along, and if Mr. flirt-a-lot Zala gets caught before she turns 18, he would end up in the slammer.

**Coming Out**: Probably _very_ soon since I want to get a lot done during the summer.

**Title**: The Cameras Are Rolling

**Pairing: **(once again) Asucaga sheepish grin

**Rating**: Probably K+ or T

**Genre:** Romance and Humour (I'm going to give humour a try but I don't think I'll be very good)

**Summary**: He is the movie star that is talked about every day and has won every girl's heart, but turns them all down. She's a top model who _thinks_ he's "in-the-closet" gay and tries to hook up her gay manager with him. Add in the paparazzi, obsessed fan girls and the fact that he's, in reality, _not_ gay and let's just say there's gunna be **a lot** of trouble ahead.

**Coming Out**: It would come out either before or after "My Little Flirt", depending on which one you people like better. Drop a review or pm and tell me which one sounds more interesting.

I still have some other ideas boiling here and there. But I think I should stick to one or two instead of starting a billion stories and leaving them all undone non? Anyways! I'm gunna go write!

Tootle loo!


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